Floyd Mayweather versus Giorgio Petrosyan? Forget McGregor!

By Boxing News - 12/20/2016 - Comments

Image: Floyd Mayweather versus Giorgio Petrosyan? Forget McGregor!

By Jaime Ortega: Everyone knows that Floyd Mayweather Jr. should be considered the best boxer of the past ten years. His hard work and dedication led him to become one of the most skilled boxers of all time – whether he deserves the tittle of best boxer ever is up to public debate.

Floyd, has used social media to promote a boxing match against UFC champion Connor McGregor; he knows a fight with Connor McGregor equals an easy paycheck and an easy fight. Anyone who suggest McGregor has a chance of even touching Floyd, has absolutely no idea about pugilism.

McGregor is on his way to become a legend – but he is not a legend yet. McGregor would rely on brawling his way up to fight Floyd, and hope for a lucky knockout punch to land; that would be hands down, the best plan McGregor should hope to achieve.

McGregor spends too much time training others martial arts to pose any serious danger to Floyd. But in the world of standout combat they are only three serious crafts; Muay Thai – the most deadly one. Boxing and kickboxing – which unlike Muay Thai, it involves no elbows. Kickboxers in general – they have been exceptions on the past — are way craftier with punch combinations than Muay Thai fighters.

Kickboxers train legs, punches and knees only; many professional kickboxers started with boxing and could compete and hang with many pro-boxers. An elite kickboxer, has very good punching technique. Yet, the style of punches differ from that of boxers; their combinations are a lot stiffer and they always stand with a high guard ready to block kicks – fighters can’t set their guard down in kickboxing. Generally speaking, they don’t move their head as much and almost always charge their opponent to engage; whereas, boxers like to chased and be chased.

Kickboxers tend to be more explosive overall, and in much better shape than boxers. It is also harder to hurt a Muay Thai fighter or a kickboxer with body shots because their body is used to receive knees, so it is almost impossible to knockdown elite kickboxers with hard body punches. So what if there was another stand up fighter, who not only was incredibly gifted, but also the best standout fighter in the world?

Not just an incredibly gifted fighter — but also at the young age of 31— a man who continues to dominate K-1, Glory and every kickboxing competition. I am talking about the legend Georgio Petrosyan, the Italian-Armenian kickboxer, who is nicknamed the Dr. because he is a surgeon on the ring. He has defeated and dismantled more world champions in kickboxing than anyone before or after him; his 83-2-2 fighting record bares the knuckles of war.

If McGregor was to fight Petrosyan under K-1 rules – no grapping involved – the Irish man would get demolished and out-ridiculed. Petrosyan is a fighting genius, and one of the best counter strikers in the world – if not the best and most complete one. No fighter in boxing or MMA has dominated their respective craft more than the Italo-Armenian prodigy has dominated kickboxing as of today — perhaps with the exception of Floyd, Anderson Silva or Fedor Emilianenko – someone might throw the now retired Bernard Hopkins in the equation.

The best part about Petrosyan, is that his best weapon are not his feet or knees – just like McGregor who uses his standup to defeat his opponents – he outboxes his opponents, and opens them up their defense like a can of worms. Petrosyan’s remarkable ability to telegraph punches and kicks while countering his opponents is also one of his best assets.

Unlike McGregor, Petrosyan has much better reflexes and he is a much better and accurate counter puncher. He times his punches with accuracy and he rarely gets hit. He poses a style that could complicate any pro-boxer.

If Floyd wants to generate a decent amount of money, he surely will take on

Connor McGregor, but if he really wants to take on a true master and another legend – he should consider fighting Petrosyan on a boxing match. Unlike Connor McGregor, who stands no chance to defeat Floyd on a boxing ring – Petrosyan does stand a chance to give Floyd an excellent and entertaining boxing fight.

Floyd would always be favorited to win against Petrosyan – and rightly so. But the chances of Petrosyan catching Floyd on a counter is also a likely scenario. Only an elite kickboxer could hang with certain pro boxers, and Petrosyan is one of the few who could certainly attempt to take the risk. If you haven’t watch Giorgio Petrosyan fight, you are truly missing out. I would rather see Petrosyan take on Floyd, than Floyd take on McGregor!